laurenjodi's review against another edition
4.0
Diamond Bay
4 Stars
When an injured and barely conscious man washes up on her isolated beach, Rachel Jones makes a split-second decision to keep his presence secret while he recuperates. CIA operative Kell Sabin is grateful yet wary of the beautiful stranger who saved his life. Neither Rachel nor Kell can deny the attraction that sizzles between them, but can their love survive the danger that stalks them?
The basic premise requires a certain degree of suspension of disbelief mainly due to the heroine's questionable decision-making processes at the beginning of the book. Nevertheless, the romance is engaging and the suspense plot ratchets up the tension.
The primary focus of the book is Rachel and Kell's growing physical and emotional intimacy. They have wonderful chemistry and their traumatic backstories not only contribute to their individual characterization, but make their relationship all the sweeter.
The villains are rather cookie-cutter, but there are some intense moments and the final showdown is satisfying.
All in all, another entertaining golden oldie from Linda Howard.
4 Stars
When an injured and barely conscious man washes up on her isolated beach, Rachel Jones makes a split-second decision to keep his presence secret while he recuperates. CIA operative Kell Sabin is grateful yet wary of the beautiful stranger who saved his life. Neither Rachel nor Kell can deny the attraction that sizzles between them, but can their love survive the danger that stalks them?
The basic premise requires a certain degree of suspension of disbelief mainly due to the heroine's questionable decision-making processes at the beginning of the book. Nevertheless, the romance is engaging and the suspense plot ratchets up the tension.
The primary focus of the book is Rachel and Kell's growing physical and emotional intimacy. They have wonderful chemistry and their traumatic backstories not only contribute to their individual characterization, but make their relationship all the sweeter.
The villains are rather cookie-cutter, but there are some intense moments and the final showdown is satisfying.
All in all, another entertaining golden oldie from Linda Howard.
shan198025's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good. Kell is a hunky dude. Rachel is a very smart woman. I really enjoyed her attitude she didn't try to hold him with tears.
booknookie's review against another edition
3.0
Click here to see my other reviews."Nothing really deep that grips you but still exciting enough to keep you going."
One word: mediocre! But to be honest the book is older than myself and we already know I'm a hard reader to please. However I did like it. Although more romance than suspense it is still nice to spend some time with an "Old, but Goldie". It is quite light and airy. Nothing really deep that grips you but still exciting enough to keep you going.
The plot is a typical "been there, read that" and nothing surprising. Was a little fast in the end and it could have been a little more developed. I liked the characters but not the instant love situation. I liked the plot but I did not like the slowness in the middle of the book. But I especially liked the dog Joe.
ria_mhrj's review against another edition
2.0
I am struggling to read any books at the moment, so this was a promising diversion. And it would have been an OK book, if the l-word wasn't thrown around so much. Which might seem like an odd criticism of a romance novel, but when a woman is nursing an unconscious man whose only communication to her has been fever dream boob fondling and she says "Yep, I love this guy"... my suspension of disbelief can only go so far. I need characters that I can believe in, and this didn't quite cut the mustard.
joelle_mireille's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
renpuspita's review
3.0
Jauh sebelum ada White Lies ma Heartbreaker, ada Diamond Bay.
Yang dah baca dua buku itu, jangan bilang kalau ga kenal sama Kell Sabin #getok. Bahkan John Rafferty dari Heartbreaker aja numpang nongol di buku ini. Karena dia emang tetangganya Rachel, yang notabene emang istrinya Sabin.
Tapi disini adalah awal mula Rachel ketemu ma Sabin
Sabin yang masih aktif jadi agen FBI (apa CIA, lupa gw), terluka saat menjalani misi. Disinilah dia diselamatin ma Rachel. Sabin yang ga pengen Rachel terancam bahaya, mulai deh sok - sokan bersikap "ih, lu siape?", "ih, gw ga suka ma loe", yah seperti itulah, dijahat2in si Rachel, walo aslinya mereka berdua ini saling suka. Sayangnya pas itu musuhnya Sabin kembali lagi, dan Rachel yang cinta ma Sabin, melindungi pria itu dari tembakan. Sabin yang shock, ninggalin Rachel, karena ga mau lagi Rachel kena bahaya, tapi kalo gitu kan hepi end. Jadi akhirnya balik lagi
Kalo ga salah gitu ceritanya, ha ha ha. Namanya juga bacanya lama banget :D
Dan GPU juga ga mau nerbitin in, karena emang udah lama terbitannya. Udah tahun 80an terbitnya.
Yang dah baca dua buku itu, jangan bilang kalau ga kenal sama Kell Sabin #getok. Bahkan John Rafferty dari Heartbreaker aja numpang nongol di buku ini. Karena dia emang tetangganya Rachel, yang notabene emang istrinya Sabin.
Tapi disini adalah awal mula Rachel ketemu ma Sabin
Sabin yang masih aktif jadi agen FBI (apa CIA, lupa gw), terluka saat menjalani misi. Disinilah dia diselamatin ma Rachel. Sabin yang ga pengen Rachel terancam bahaya, mulai deh sok - sokan bersikap "ih, lu siape?", "ih, gw ga suka ma loe", yah seperti itulah, dijahat2in si Rachel, walo aslinya mereka berdua ini saling suka. Sayangnya pas itu musuhnya Sabin kembali lagi, dan Rachel yang cinta ma Sabin, melindungi pria itu dari tembakan. Sabin yang shock, ninggalin Rachel, karena ga mau lagi Rachel kena bahaya, tapi kalo gitu kan hepi end. Jadi akhirnya balik lagi
Kalo ga salah gitu ceritanya, ha ha ha. Namanya juga bacanya lama banget :D
Dan GPU juga ga mau nerbitin in, karena emang udah lama terbitannya. Udah tahun 80an terbitnya.
ccgwalt's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable older book from Linda Howard. I've enjoyed the entire Kell Sabin series. They are short and a little dated, but worth losing yourself in for a few hours. Sexy, dangerous men and strong women. What more do you need from an "escapist" read?
the_brewed_bookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Such a heart warming read. Sabin and Rachel were perfect together. Insta-love but well-written.
airteme's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't care for the insta love that happened in this book. It may also be that I read the first book of this series recently and perhaps I needed a bigger break between the books. You could tell it was a older book because of the setting. There was talk of using a pay phone in the story which made me laugh as those are not around now. I debated in giving this book 2 stars verses 3 . It wasn't a terrible book but it didn't keep my attention all the way through and I ended up listening to another book as I was attempting to finish this one.